New Prosecutor in Arizona's Pinal County Fires Nine Lawyers, Three Others

Nine lawyers and three other employees working for the Pinal County Attorney’s office lost their jobs this week when Lando Voyles took over the top job there, the Arizona Republic reports.

Voyles is defending the firings in a statement that refers to his commitment to change “the deep rooted culture within this office of releasing violent offenders.” According to the Republic, the statistics have yet to support the contention.

Voyles also cited possible misconduct by an employee as evidence of mismanagement. Any managers who supervised the suspect “could not be allowed to remain employed in my office,” he said.

The suspect resigned during the investigation, according to the previous County Attorney, James Walsh, who criticized Voyles’ statements. “This has got to stop,” Walsh told the newspaper. “He’s entitled to come in, he’s entitled to treat people as miserably as he wants,” but he is unfairly portraying the former employees, Walsh said.